21-year-old budding tennis famous person Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated all-time nice Novak Djokovic final summer season within the Wimbledon last, efficiently defended his crown towards seven-time Wimbledon champ on Sunday in a five-game match.

This time, nevertheless, it was barely a aggressive match in any respect. The 6-foot world No. 3 bested the 24-time Grand Slam winner in straight units — 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 — with a killer serve and noteworthy poise and persistence.

Learn Extra: Novak Djokovic Advances to Wimbledon Final, Setting Up Rematch With Carlos Alcaraz

With the victory, Alcaraz secured his report fourth Grand Slam championship earlier than turning 22, breaking the earlier report set by his personal countryman, Rafael Nadal, who had received three by that time, per ATPTour.com. Nadal, nonetheless an energetic participant at age 38, presently has 22 main championships, second solely to Djokovic amongst males’s gamers within the Open Period.

Alcaraz has additionally now received the final two majors on tour, after additionally claiming his first-ever French Open title earlier this season. He additionally received the US Open in 2022.

Although Novak Djokovic is probably the perfect males’s tennis participant in historical past (he is actually the winningest, at the very least in main {hardware}), the 37-year-old is catching the ascendant Alcaraz whereas he himself appears to be in a little bit of a slide (for him). The world No. 2 has but to win a serious this 12 months. If he cannot declare a victory on the US Open, it is going to mark his first season and not using a Grand Slam since 2017, when he missed a lot of the 12 months with an elbow damage.

The duo is now 3-3 in head-to-head matches. Breaking it down by courtroom floor, the 2 greats are 1-1 on clay, whereas Djokovic is 2-0 on laborious courts and Alcaraz is 2-0 on grass.

After the match, a reflective Djokovic was remarkably candid about Alcaraz’s excellence — and acknowledged that he regarded higher than ever in besting the 24-time Grand Slam champ, per Stephanie Livaudais of Tennis.com.

“Simply general the best way I felt on the courtroom at present towards him, I used to be inferior on the courtroom. That is it,” Djokovic conceded. “He was a greater participant. He performed each single shot higher than I did.”

“I’ve by no means seen him serve that approach, to be sincere. 136 [miles per hour serve speed],” Djokovic added. “Possibly I used to be lacking one thing this match, however I’ve by no means seen him serve that quick. He should have had a extremely good serving observe day yesterday… Sure, general he actually outplayed me.”

“With the intention to actually have an opportunity to beat these guys in Grand Slam latter phases or Olympics, I’ll should play significantly better than I did at present and really feel significantly better than I did at present,” Djokovic mentioned.

Djokovic is on the mend after recovering from a torn meniscus incurred on the French Open in early June. He’s nonetheless on tempo to compete for his native Serbia within the 2024 Paris Olympics later this month. Alcaraz, in the meantime, will likely be trying to declare his first Olympic gold medal for Spain.

Extra Information: Olympics News: Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz to Team Up for Spain in Tennis